To: The Leaders of America’s Homebuilding and Residential Development Enterprises
Re: A Call for Immediate Action on Tariffs That Threaten Housing Attainability

Colleagues,

America’s leading automakers — Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis — just secured a temporary reprieve from the new tariffs that would have severely affected their industry. They stood up, presented their case, and won a critical concession from the White House.

They used to say, 'As Detroit auto companies go, so goes the economy.' That may still be true. The multiplier effects of homebuilding and residential development on local economies and the GDP are equally true.

It’s time for the leaders of U.S. homebuilding to be so bold as to do the same.

The new tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China will add significant costs to home construction when housing affordability has already reached a breaking point. Lumber, drywall, appliances, electrical components — these are not just line items on a materials list. They are fundamental to delivering homes to buyers who are already struggling with high interest rates, soaring insurance premiums, rising property taxes, and hidden costs that push homeownership further out of reach.

This is not about politics. It is about business. More importantly, it is about people. These families dream of buying a home but can no longer afford one because every added dollar in material costs pushes that goal further away.

The data makes this clear. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) estimates that for every $1,000 increase in the cost of a new home, nearly 106,000 potential buyers are priced out of the market. The latest tariffs will add between $7,500 and $10,000 per home. That’s up to a million families who will no longer qualify for homeownership.

This isn’t a hypothetical problem. Builders are already seeing its impact. Supply chain disruptions and fluctuating costs create uncertainty, which can freeze demand in housing markets.

Spring selling season is here. Buyers and builders need confidence, but these tariffs create the opposite. If would-be buyers get hit with "escalator clauses" in their purchase contracts to accommodate for evolving direct cost adjustments, the damage to new-home demand could be swift and lasting.

Homebuilding is not an industry that can absorb these costs without consequence. Margins are already stretched, incentives are maxed out, and supply chains are fragile. Unlike automakers, who can offset costs through international production shifts, homebuilders are tied to domestic land, labor, and regulation. There is no workaround. The only outcome is higher prices for buyers already showing strong signs that a home purchase within their financial limits is at risk.

NAHB has outlined a clear case for reconsidering these tariffs. It has called for the administration to negotiate a long-term softwood lumber agreement with Canada and urged Congress to pass measures that alleviate supply-side bottlenecks, lower regulatory burdens, and address workforce shortages. However, those efforts need the administration's leadership.

This is a moment for action.

CEOs of public and private homebuilders, leaders of investment and development firms, manufacturers, and suppliers, your voices matter. The administration has already shown it is willing to listen to industry leaders. It’s time to ensure homebuilding is represented at the table.

Tariffs on essential building materials must be paused. A long-term trade solution must be negotiated. And housing attainability must be protected.

This is not just about today’s sales cycle or quarterly earnings.

This is about harm to the near- and mid-term future of homeownership in America. If you don’t act now, who will?

Sincerely,

John McManus, The Builder's Daily